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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Sam Rigney

Greta bus crash driver Brett Button won't appear in court today

Bus driver Brett Button leaving Cessnock police station after he was granted bail on June 13. Picture by Jonathan Carroll

The bus driver accused of causing the horror crash that killed 10 wedding guests and seriously injured dozens more at Greta in June has been excused from appearing in court today when prosecutors are expected to confirm if a brief of evidence in the case is complete.

Brett Andrew Button, 58, will be represented by solicitor Jemma O'Brien from Newcastle firm O'Brien Winter Partners when his matter is mentioned in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday.

The law firm confirmed that because he was legally represented, Mr Button had been excused from attending court on Wednesday.

The matter had been listed for brief status, but given police and prosecutors last week filed an additional 43 additional charges against Mr Button relating to the injured passengers, it is not expected that the brief of evidence will be complete.

Already charged with 10 counts of both dangerous driving occasioning death and a back-up charge of negligent driving occasioning death, Mr Button has now been charged with an additional nine counts of both dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.

As well as those charges, police and prosecutors have charged Mr Button with 25 counts of cause bodily harm by misconduct in charge of a motor vehicle for each of the 25 surviving but seriously injured passengers.

Mr Button was granted conditional bail in Cessnock Local Court in June, two days after he lost control of a bus full of wedding guests on a roundabout on Wine Country Drive at Greta.

The bus rolled and the impact caused the death of 10 passengers and seriously injured 25 others.

The 58-year-old had been taking dozens of wedding guests from a lush Hunter Valley estate to the groom and bride's hometown of Singleton.

Mr Button was later charged with ten counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and refused bail by police.

He was granted bail on June 13, despite prosecutors arguing Mr Button had taken the roundabout far too quickly and some passengers had told police Mr Button said "fasten your seatbelts" before the crash.

Some of the survivors had provided statements about Mr Button's "prolonged" behaviour before the bus tipped and slammed into a guard rail about 11.30pm on June 11, the court was told.

Mr Button has not entered any pleas and once the brief is complete, prosecutors are expected to finalise what offences he will face in the NSW District Court.

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